満ちた月が地球の光 (Mochita Tsuki ga Chikyuu no Hikari)
by Mononoke-hime x sukai kurora
Summary: Noragami AU. Mochizuki no O-Kami is not an ordinary god. He is a god without a shrine, and no human remembers him. That is, until a human girl sees him with a cat.


This was supposed to be for July 25, the second day of Mitsuki week, but I got so busy I couldn't write it! I always wanted to do a Noragami AU for Mitsuki. The translation for the story is as follows: _The Light of the Earth's Full Moon._

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満ちた月が地球の光 ( _Mochita Tsuki ga Chikyuu no Hikari_ )

Mochizuki no O-Kami knew that he was no ordinary god. Currently, he was staring forlornly at the sky as the spring air tasseled his white-blue locks, but the gentle breeze did not stir any contented feeling in his heart. For three months, the katana that had served as his weapon against the _ayakashi_ , beings from the Near Shore that had fallen into the world of the human beings, was gone. His _shinki,_ a spirit often served as weapons or accessory to gods, had decided that if would be better if they parted ways.

It didn't matter that Umeo believed that it she would be served better if she found a new master. She would still be in danger. Her name that the god had placed upon her was no longer hers, and her contract was broken. She was now a wandering and nameless spirit.

There were many gods that had forgotten how it was to live in a world of precariousness. Of what it was like to live – if what the god did as living – with the constant question, the uncertainty. The impermanence.

Such words made Mitsuki – the name that the god went by now as most humans had forgotten his actual name, Mochizuki no O-Kami – think of his father. Despite his father's position of not having seen each other for more than a millennia, the fondness Mitsuki had for his father had not faded.

All gods were remembered and existed through the worship of humans. Throughout the year, especially during the New Year and autumn festivals, many humans visited shrines and temples to pray for the gods for good health, status, or any of their desires. If the shrine to the specific god was visited, then the humans' presence was a sign that the god had not been forgotten. Especially during the spring, with plum blossoms in bloom, young students, some as young as thirteen or fourteen, would seek the shrine of a god Mitsuki knew well. Leaving a note for good luck on exams, or praying for good fortune in education, millions of students came here each year, or every season, bringing the bright red bridge above the clear water of the Konohagakure River with thousands upon thousands of wooden plaques. Sometimes Mitsuki would read those wishes. The students, he had thought one time when standing above a shrine he had no business standing on, had never changed through the passage of time. Many gods took it for granted that they would exist. As so many humans visited their temples and made offerings, food, and prayed to them for good fortune, there were very few gods that were under the fear of being forgotten. By building shrines and bringing offerings with festivals every year, gods were remembered, and thus became an image of status among the seven million gods in the universe. Even when mentioned in passing in history books, or a very small child, the gods and goddess continued to exist.

Mitsuki did not have a shrine to his name. The small shrines that he saw often along paths and roads did not have his name, or offerings for him. Both of his names were unknown to humans, and it was only through the existence of the full moon was he able to survive. Being a god with little status and under threat of being forgotten, many spirits hesitated to become his _shinki_. The more celebrated a god or goddess was, the more _shinki_ they had. It was a sign of status, one that Mochizuki no O-Kami didn't have.

His father, Orochimaru No Byakuhebi-Kami, had attempted to usurp the almighty goddess Amaterasu and gain her power two millennia ago. He was the illegitimate son of the goddess herself, and was sent down to earth as punishment for bearing a child with a lowly human. The god, with his long black hair and golden serpent-like eyes, had essentially attempted to take his mother's power and have it as his own. However, the power of Heaven had intervened, and as punishment for his crimes, Orochimaru was stripped of his god status and sent to the cave of Izanagi, a dark and dreary prison, for all eternity. Mitsuki was only a child and the human age of two years, was no longer recognized as being the youngest sibling of Tsukuyomi, and his status, whatever that remained from the small shrines that gathered, were destroyed.

Mitsuki did not hate his father for bringing his two sons to this position. Unlike his much older brother, Mitsuki did see his father's choice as being one of greed and arrogance, and power, but of desperation for his sons to not be shunned and ignored by Heaven and the other gods as he had been. _Not that it worked,_ Mitsuki thought with a small ironic smile.

The small god, looking to be the age of a fifteen year old high school student, wore a kimono similar to the color of his hair and the sky. The only indication of his heritage was a small, barely noticeable half-moon in the center of his color, with a full moon on the left side. Heaven had let him have that at least.

His musings were interrupted by a small meow around his feet. An unusual but soft smile appeared on his face, and his pale white hand reached down to pet the small kitten. Mitsuki had always liked cats. Dogs and other creatures remained afraid of him despite not being able to see him, and often came with an air of suspicion when he tried to approach them. Even as a child, forced to live in a strange land far in the east with its own people and children that ran away from his pale hair and strange eyes, animals seemed to be the most frightened of him. Cats, however, didn't seem to mind his presence. If it was because they were solitary creatures and found this nameless god in a child's body interesting, or sought to comfort him from his loneliness, Mitsuki didn't know. All he knew was that this kitten, which was pure white with green eyes, was pure joy.

It wasn't often that Mitsuki could enjoy his existence like this. The white-blue haired god nuzzled the kitten as he held the tiny body against his chest. The kitten was purring, almost encasing his body in warmth. At least there were no enemies to be fought today. He opened his one eye slowly and found himself staring at two girls wearing sailor uniforms that had suddenly appeared, watching the television. Mitsuki found himself curious. What exactly were these young humans interested about?

Well, one of them appeared to be. Mitsuki vaguely saw light brown hair and slightly darker skin. Bored jet-black eyes seemed to meet his for a moment, and the dark hair, reaching to her neck, was the same color as her eyes. Vermilion lenses framed her bored eyes, which were cat-like. Her uniform was neat and a heavy dark blue bag was slung over her shoulder. Suddenly, the human girl's body seemed to tense, and the emotion in her eyes went from boredom to shock. _Hmm…interesting,_ Mitsuki thought. It wasn't often that humans had the ability to see him. He must have looked ridiculous, wearing a Edo-era kimono and having a small cat in his eyes.

Still, Mochizuki no O-Kami smiled at the human child.

A bus ran through the busy street, and for some reason, the human child's face with short dark black hair and the same colored eyes remained in his mind.

When the human attempted to see him again after the bus drove away from blocking the view, Mitsuki had disappeared.


End file.
